Below is an email from a customer who was having difficulty figuring out how to install the Auto Rewind device in his player piano and my reply. Here are the pictures that he send to me -click here.

Monday, Feb 4, 2013

John:

Your email with the accompanying marked-up photo on Jan 29 in reply
to my previous inquiry about installing the 916 kit for auto rewind was
helpful. Using that information I have "dry" installed the device to verify
that it can be fitted onto my piano. I have attached three photos of my
setup for your review and comment. My questions:

1) The vacuum hose is fitted to one of the two holes at the top of
the device using the brass elbow. What do I do with the other hole in the
device?

2) I would like to attach the vacuum hose from the device to the
piano reservoir with a 3/4" vac flange elbow through the same wood panel
where the electric vacuum pump hose flange is attached. (See photo ....
0006). Do you have a suitable 3/4" flange for that purpose? If not, how
would you attach the device vac hose to the piano reservoir, going through
that same wood panel? What hardware would I need?

3) What is the purpose of the 4 round-head screws in the top end of
the device? If they are adjustments, how do I use them?

4) A white plastic elbow and a cork stopper came with the kit.
What are they for?

5) The photo for the Automatic Rewind Device in the " Supplies"
section of your website Player-care.com shows some kind of black fitting
near the screw-eye on the 916 device, but mine does not have that . What is
it, what does it do, and why does mine not have it?

I still do not understand what is actually happening internally when the
rewind mechanism functions. Could you give me a word description of the
purpose of each of the connections, and of what is happening with each step
of the change from play to rewind?

Thank you very much for your help!

Lee

====================================================

Hi Lee,

Everything looks to be in good shape.

1.) Use the cork to seal the other hole in the device. You can use
either plastic glue or epoxy, but you must create an air-tight seal.
(I can't remember for certain, but I might have also thrown in a
little silver 'cap' that fits into the hole. Either the cork or the cap
can be used to seal the 'other' hole.) BTW, you can install either
the plastic elbow or the brass elbow into the device.

2.) The easiest thing to do is drill a hole in the blank-off plate that
you made (great idea BTW -that way you have the original plate
intact in case you want to return the system to its original state at
sometime in the future) and use 5-minute epoxy to cement the
other elbow in place. If you really want a flanged elbow, I can sell
you one for $15.50 + $7.90 S/H.

3.) The four round-head screws are used to secure the two block
valves to the device. The springs are there to help prevent the
over-tightening of the screws. If the screws are too tight, the wood
might crack and destroy the block valve. They are correctly
tightened at the factory and should require no attention.

4.) I gave you the other small white elbow in case you want to
use hole #1 and hole #87 to trigger the device. You have it
tubed for just hole #87, which is the normal configuration.
The function of the cork was already explained above.

5.) The black (actually gray) piece near the eye-screw is a
flimsy rubber plug that was supplied to seal the 'other hole'
in the device. The supplier now includes a cork to do the job.
I just haven't gotten around to taking another picture......

The auto rewind device functions the same as any pneumatically
operated device that's found in a player piano. Basically speaking,
a valve controls the flow of vacuum to a bellow. When the valve is
"on", vacuum sucks the air out of the bellow, causing it to collapse
(or close). When the valve is "off" (or the valve changes state), air
from the atmosphere is allowed to flow into the bellow, causing it to
relax. In the case of the auto rewind device, there are two valves
working in tandem which supply the vacuum to the bellow.

This page was last revised
February 5, 2013 by John A. Tuttle, who Assumes No
LiabilityFor The Accuracy or Validity of the Statements and/or Opinions
Expressed within the Pages of the Player-Care Domain. Cartoon Graphics by E7 Style Graphics (Eric Styles)

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